Dodge Circuit EV Is An ‘Enthusiast’s Feast’

Chrysler shocked — please pardon the pun — everyone when it promised to put an electric car in showroom next year, and its financial implosion suggested the EV initiative was little more than wishful thinking. But evidence suggests Chrysler is serious about electric cars and will build the Circuit two-seater.

Car & Driver convinced Chrysler to turn over a Circuit prototype for some flogging at the company’s proving ground in Chelsea, Mich. C&D‘s Dave Vanderwerp, in a piece available only in the magazine’s print (remember print?) edition, says the Circuit is more than a real car. It’s a real sportscar and “an enthusiast’s feast from behind the wheel.”

The prototype sports a 266 horsepower motor that produces 295 pound-feet of torque. Power comes from a 35 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack with a range of about 150 miles. Chrysler’s claiming a recharge time of 90 minutes to 12 hours, depending upon the power source. The Circuit is based on the Lotus Europa, which makes comparisons to the Tesla Roadster inevitable.

And gives Tesla reason to worry.

C&D praises the Circuit’s handling, though Vanderwerp complains the 600-pound battery pack skews the weight bias toward the rear wheels. That lightens the front end under power and exacerbates the car’s tendency to understeer. Acceleration is brisk, with a claimed 0-to-60 sprint of 4.7 seconds, but Chrysler hopes to shave half a second off that should the car see production. Power falls off significantly as you approach the century mark. Vanderwerp gives the regenerative brakes and unassisted steering high marks.

So is Chrysler going to build the damn thing?

Probably. Lou Rhodes, head of Chrysler’s ENVI electric car program, told Car & Driver there are prototypes on the road in Michigan, Arizona and the U.K. “If this were simply a corporate promotion,” Vanderwerp writes, “then there would be no need to spend oodles on prototypes scattered around the world.”

Vanderwerp also says Rhodes “has a well-thought-out production plan” that would have the Circuit built at the Lotus factory then shipped to the U.S. for drivetrain installation. That’s exactly how Tesla produces the Roadster.

Here’s The Thing With Ad Blockers

We get it: Ads aren’t what you’re here for. But ads help us keep the lights on. So, add us to your ad blocker’s whitelist or pay $1 per week for an ad-free version of WIRED. Either way, you are supporting our journalism. We’d really appreciate it.